Startling Revelations

Summary: In which Natasha takes Steve to a mall for some culture and Steve encounters a new innovation that's unsettling. A friendly one-shot targeting the controversial Nat/Steve kiss.

Rating: T

AN: So, I'm pretty sure a lot of people know about that Steve/Natasha picture of them kissing supposedly in Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier. And a lot of ships have been pretty upset concerning it; Clintasha, Blackfrost, BuckyNat, etc.

So I felt it would be necessary if I decided to write a little one-shot that would simply make it a friendly, experimental kiss because Steve hasn't gotten a real kiss since for many many years.

-Did he kiss anyone in Captain America back when he was-back? I still haven't seen the first one-so I hope he hasn't so it will make this one-shot relevant to something-but enjoy!

I left the guy in here nameless, so you can go your own way of thinking of whomever Natasha's mystery guy is.

Oh, and warning. This is my first Avengers one-shot…it'll probably end up terrible.

~Nat

[OoOoOoO]

"You look a bit uncomfortable. Everything alright?" Natasha cautiously asked, taking note of Steve's continual stare at the moving flight of stairs, nearly in a state of shock.

"Everything's just fine Ms. Romanoff." He answered, stare unmoving, face as stoic as it had been since she'd brought him here.

Natasha leaned her elbows on the railing, tilting her head to get a good look at his face. "Your tone could beg to differ, Cap." She responded, allowing him to finally meet her gaze.

"This flight of moving stairs." He gestured. "This metaphorically represents the changes that have happened."

She shrugged. "It's called an escalator."

"In my time," Steve continued. "You walked up a flight of stairs, not stood on a step and waited for it to bring you to the bottom. It was good exercise."

She merely chuckled. "Maybe that's why the population of healthy Americans is plummeting to the overbearing amount of unhealthy ones. Steve Rogers knows the problem, it's escalators."

Steve cracked a smile at her joke. "I imagined that there would be new innovations, a better efficiency - just not all of this." His arms flew around in emphasis. The electronically run directories, the flood rushes of people gathering into the Microsoft and Apple stores, the massive percentage of people in the mall on their cellphones doing God knows what. It was allusive to the old-fashioned man.

His face then twisted. "And what's up with Kim Kardashian?"

Natasha shook her head. "Just-don't ask. No one really knows."

Steve chuckled in a deep, meaningful way and returned his gaze to the - escalator. "It's just very strange for a man like me, my apologies Ms. Romanoff, I don't mean to sound ungrateful."

The redhead shook her head, resting a careful hand on his shoulder. "It's fine Steve, really. It's new for you, I understand."

"That's the understatement of the day Ms. Romanoff."

"We're off duty Steve, it's Natasha." She cracked a half-smile and circled her arm over to the escalator. "Open up your mind for a moment to the modern world and try the escalator." A modern necessity, yes; did it still have Steve a twinge worried? Yes.

The man put on a brave face. "Why not?"

[OoOoOoO]

This was definitely not the cultural experience Steve had been looking for in the modern world. Not one that scared the shit out of him. Apparently, escalators were a bit more dangerous than they looked.

"Whoa. WHOA!" Steve stumbled on the step, grasping desperately and holding onto the railing for dear life while Natasha stood calmly in front of him.

"If this is how you react to an escalator, I'm glad I didn't put you in an elevator." Natasha remarked, starting to regret her choice to show Steve some American culture.

Steve grasped tightly, digging his fingers into the rubber. "Sorry Miss-Natasha, I probably look like a bumbling fool."

"No, you're good." Natasha made of move of sweeping her gaze where the majority of the populations' eyes were; on their phones. "Everyone's too busy texting to notice."

"Ah, who am I kidding," Steve sighed deeply, gaining Natasha's attention from the step in front of him as she turned to face him quizzically. "I'm not ready for this stuff."

"Don't be so discouraged, we've fought monsters and magic; evil war lords and rageful green giants." She looked bemused. "You can conquer a mechanical set of stairs."

Steve looked unappreciative with that comment. "It's not the-escalator Ms. Natasha, it's everything in general. Time has changed so feverently." He finally released the railing, blushing. "Hell, I haven't even kissed a woman in years."

Natasha's cool hands on the sides of his neck brought his attention back to her. "This is for every platonic reason in the book Cap, consider it a reality check. Welcome to the new world." Before leaning forward and capturing his lips, incasing his dry ones [apparently he hadn't heard of chap-stick either] in her moist ones, catching him off guard.

And boy could she kiss.

Steve's hand absently skimmed the side of her waist, toes curling in his boots. Clearly she had solid experience as she held the reigns tight and gave him a first kiss in this century he'd be not-too-fast to forget.

They pulled away abruptly when Natasha's step she had been standing on had slipped out from beneath her foot; pulling Steve and drawing them to a halt.

Steve was breathless. "Wow-"

Natasha only smiled in amusement, imagining the look on her man's face if he would have been witness to the kiss. She considered it a duty really; Steve needed to wake-up. This was the twenty-first century; he had to live a little.

She certainly had. Why should he be deprived of the same?

"Feeling light-headed Cap?" She teased lightly.

"I believe we were using our real names Natasha." Steve grinned. "We're not on the job."

The assassin gave him a rare, genuine smile in return. "Now you're getting it."

AN: AND that's the end of my one-shot. My apologies if it's terrible-it's my first one.

REVIEWS ARE KINDLY APPRECIATED IF YOU WANT ME TO WRITE MORE AVENGERS ONE-SHOTS!

~Nat